Hundreds of researchers and health professionals will gather in Portland, Ore. Feb. 27 through March 1 for the 2008 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s (SRNT) annual conference. UW-CTRI will be well represented. Here’s a rundown.

Tim Baker: Invited Conference Plenary. Baker, UW-CTRI research director, will give the invited plenary clinical lecture. “I will discuss the nature of nicotine dependence,” Baker said.  “How do we understand and measure this hypothetical construct? It is of central interest to the field—most would say that it captures what is meant by tobacco addiction. It may be a central target of treatment and assessments. I also selected it since a good bit of our current research addresses this topic. For instance, it allows me to talk about our current research on the WISDM” scale, a 68-question survey designed to assess smoking dependence.

Megan Piper: Panelist, Chair for Paper Session and SRNT Program Committee Member. As a committee member, Piper helped to plan the conference and screen abstracts for inclusion as posters or presentations. She’ll be the emcee for a paper session, introducing about a half-dozen scientists who will present research. Piper will also discuss the mediators of bupropion as part of a panel organized by Rutgers faculty member Danielle McCarthy (formerly a UW-CTRI graduate student). Other panel members include UW-CTRI Research Director Tim Baker, Saul Shiffman (University of Pittsburgh) and David MacKinnon (Arizona State).

“The takeaway is the importance of trying to understand treatment mechanisms—how treatments work,” Baker said. “This is important for helping put treatments together, for developing more effective treatments and for matching patients with treatments. We will also discuss how to do such mediation research.” MacKinnon will discuss cutting-edge statistical research that can be used to show why certain treatments help people quit and how to improve them. Shiffman will present on nicotine-replacement therapies and how they work to relieve withdrawal and craving—and prevent a slip from becoming a full-blown relapse. McCarthy will talk about how bupropion works. Baker will share where we should go from here.

Tara LaRowe: Poster. “Obesity and Smoking: Comparing Treatment Seekers With the General Population.” Tara compared the prevalence of obesity among smokers seeking treatment in the Wisconsin Smokers’ Health Study (TTURC 2) to the general population represented by data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). She postulated that results would follow conventional wisdom that smokers are leaner than nonsmokers. However, she found that TTURC 2 participants’ rates of obesity, 37 percent, were actually higher than the “never smokers” (34 percent), and much higher than current smokers in the NHANES (27 percent). “Surprising,” LaRowe said. “Smokers seeking treatment probably have underlying health issues due to other factors such as obesity. They’re at the breaking point health-wise where they realize they have to quit smoking.” LaRowe collaborated with Megan Piper and Michael Fiore, UW-CTRI Director.

UW-CTRI Staff: Clinical Practice Guideline Update Workshop. Several staff members will discuss how the guideline update came together.

Bruce Christiansen: Poster. Christiansen collaborated with Marva Brooks from Salvation Army and UW-CTRI student Sasha Noble to test feasibility of a quit-tobacco intervention at a social service agency. They found these agencies can provide at least a brief intervention to their clients who smoke without negatively affecting the clients’ perception of the agency or other services provided. Such an intervention is well accepted by agency staff but some employees may question its feasibility. The intervention increased the willingness of clients to seek help when quitting but didn’t increase intention to quit.

Paula Keller: Poster. Keller collaborated with Linda Bailey, Tim Baker and Michael Fiore to analyze data from the 2004-2006 North American Quitline Consortium surveys of state quitlines. They found funding for services increased in 2005 but then decreased in 2006 to close to 2004 levels; funding for promotion has declined over time; and more quitlines (about 46 percent in 2006 compared to 21 percent in 2004) provide free medications. More states are offering Web coaching.

Heather Johnson: Poster. TTURC 2 Collaborator Dr. Heather Johnson will present “Predictors of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Current Smokers.” Researchers used the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) ultrasound test to gauge risk factors among TTURC 2 participants. They found carotid atherosclerosis to be associated with standard cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, as well as with increasing waist circumference and pack-years smoked.  Providers should aggressively treat CV risk factors and help smokers quit. Johnson partnered with Dr. Susan Aeschlimann, Claudia Korcarz, Doug Jorenby, Tim Baker, Michael Fiore and Dr. Jim Stein.

Jeff Niederdeppe: Poster. Niederdeppe will present “Consequences of Dramatic Reductions In State Tobacco Control Funds: Florida, 1998-2000.” Niederdeppe and colleagues tested consumer feedback on “truth” campaign ads after funding cuts. They examined rates of change in "truth" recall, anti-industry beliefs, and non-smoking intentions before and after the budget cuts using the Florida Anti-Tobacco Media Evaluation Survey. They found that positive momentum during the campaign was quickly reversed after funding ended—especially when considering teens’ intent to start smoking. They concluded there is a critical need to maintain and enhance funding for state tobacco-control programs to prevent youth from initiating cigarette smoking. Niederdeppe collaborated with Matthew Farrelly, James Hersey and Kevin Davis (RTI International).

Sandra Japuntich: Two Posters. For the first poster, Japuntich will present data from TTURC 2 Project 3, focusing on implementing tobacco treatment at “real-world” clinics. TTURC researchers found that many smokers are eligible and accept a smoking-cessation program when offered. She’ll compare the demographics of these participants to other smokers in the same clinics and to smokers enrolled in TTURC 2 Project 1, who volunteered to travel to UW-CTRI clinics to participate in that more “controlled” study.

Tim Baker,
UW-CTRI Research Director